


HANSHA

by Jverse



Category: The 25th Ward: The Silver Case, シルバー事件 | The Silver Case
Genre: Bonding, Gen, Ghosts, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:21:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28107708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jverse/pseuds/Jverse
Summary: [Post-The 25th Ward: The Silver Case] Yuki Shimohira meets a familiar old man at the turtle pond of the Hinashira local zoo, while her silver sense tickles for a mystery who waits to be unfolded.
Kudos: 4





	HANSHA

**Author's Note:**

> This piece has a collaboration illustration made by the talented Nic Freeman (Twitter: @NonfatalDrop ). Here's the piece in particular. It's awesome! So thankful for being able to have worked with him: https://twitter.com/NonfatalDrop/status/1338956323161948162

After getting out of the train, she took a moment to look up at the clear blue sky. She shielded her eyes against the sunny Sunday, a perfect day to enjoy with family at a park, or just hang out around the city with friends. A normality that was going to be broken soon. But she was determined. Yuki Shimohira wasn’t surprised about partaking in supernatural business during this kind of lovely-looking day. She was surprised by how quickly she was adapting to the concept, perhaps growing as something natural at an accelerated rhythm. Or… perhaps it’d always been like that. At least since she met Rina. Her best friend turned that special peculiarity in her life into normality, and that was for the best. She could gather a more powerful strength to do this thanks to her.

You could usually find her checking her smartphone and hurrying up on writing a message back, looking as busy as any other social teenager in our society. Talking with Rina was only possible thanks to the device’s message system, although it wasn’t like she had never seen or heard her in her own augmented sense of reality before. They found a comfy space together to allow communication without letting others suspect. Right now, though, it was a little different.

Her phone had buzzed more than a couple of times since she left the train behind, but she was trying to ignore it. Yuki was in a hurry to reach the meeting point, and she didn’t feel like checking on Rina’s irritation for a while. She knew she would get mad at her later, but she also knew that her friend didn’t seem to like the person she was going to meet today. How could she stand up to fifty messages telling her she should be wary over last night? Sighing, she finally got it while walking out of the station, fingers writing fast.

YukiKazura: is it like last night? I’m not reading back again lol  
YukiKazura. It was hard to sleep decently with u constantly worried :/  
Rina: :(((((  
Rina: Of course I’m worried!!  
Rina: U need to take care of yourself  
Rina: This is not like the train lady  
Rina: We don’t know what the problem is  
Rina: Mysteries are dangerous!! >:o  
YukiKazura: Haha  
YukiKazura: U sound like an old lady  
YukiKazura: Grandma…  
Rina: :(((  
YukiKazura: Again?  
YukiKazura: Don’t worry, we agreed to do this  
YukiKazura: We want to make things better, right?  
Rina: Yeah!!!  
YukiKazura: Then u need to trust him  
YukiKazura: At least a little  
Rina: I feel like he means dangerous business  
YukiKazura: He helped me back there  
YukiKazura: And we were the ones insisting  
YukiKazura. It’s okay if u still have ur doubts but  
YukiKazura: Trust me at least  
Rina: Always! U shouldn’t think I don’t Yuki  
YukiKazura: Then it’s a deal  
YukiKazura: Just pay attention and leave it to me  
YukiKazura: We’ll talk once it’s finished  
YukiKazura: Okay?  
Rina: …  
Rina: Go for it!!  
Rina: :)  
YukiKazura: ;)

Yuki found herself smiling at the digital screen too before locking her phone and looking forward. The Hinashiro Local Zoo was a curious place to choose as a meeting spot, but she had her own guesses about his choice. She hadn't been there since she was a little girl, walking around while holding her mother’s hand, so a certain nostalgic feeling struck her heart when she bought the ticket and got in. As she checked the map on a panel and started heading to a specific area, she felt a thrill; Yuki had no idea what to expect. She really wanted to explore what was beyond the yonder of their structured reality, what was chaotic, unexpected and out of the norm.

She moved faster upon noticing his back. He looked so focused on the water below him. Of course a guy who called himself TurtleGuy as an online handle would be at the turtles’ pond, out of the many scenarios the zoo could provide. Standing next to him, the old man smiled back at her.

“Such an early bird for an old man, aren’t you?” She said, trying to get a smile out from him.

“I’ve never liked to sleep that much anyways...” It worked, and the girl smiled back.

“It’s a smart move from you. Now that I look at it… It’s a perfect choice.” While Yuki looked at the turtles gathering near them at the pond, the old man frowned slightly. “We can talk freely about our deal, and nobody will suspect anything of us. It’s like I’m enjoying a day at the zoo with my grandpa.”

“Tch.” He almost chuckled funnily, averting his eyes to take a closer look at the animals, his memories convoluting his feelings. “I just wanted to see the turtles. Sorry to deceive you, you’re the smart kid here.”

While Yuki’s expression changed to disappointment, the old man became absorbed in staring at the turtles gathering near them. It was kind of funny to see them approaching him from below. There was a sense of familiarity to them, like they were old acquaintances. But soon enough, Tokio turned to look at the girl with a cool smile, and he started to walk out of the place, heading to the mammals area.

“Let’s get to work.”

Yuki followed quickly, still trying to decipher what was so mysterious about this meeting. The zoo looked like what you would expect from a relaxed Sunday like this, with many families and couples enjoying a fun time around.

“If it wasn’t to build a decent cover… Why are we here?”

“Looks like someone didn’t read the news.” He said, a hand snatching inside of his coat but quickly repenting. He remembered, sadly, that he shouldn’t be vaping here. 

Meanwhile, Yuki retorted quickly. “They weren’t talking about the zoo on TV.”

“It won’t be on TV. There’s a possibility you’ll find it on social media but that can be unreliable.” He rubbed his chin, eyes half-lid. “You definitely need to spend more time checking on message boards, kid.”

“But those aren’t exactly a popular media for news… and isn’t that a bit archaic?” she questioned, at which Tokio just hummed in amusement. 

“It’s a very crude way of collecting information, direct from real people just talking about what they experience, completely unfiltered. Perhaps a rough source. Even messy if you want, but the most reliable you’ll find without having actual contacts.”

“Our situation calls for a lot of street journalism, then,” she added.Tokio nodded. “You’re already smarter than I was at your age, kid. You’ll only need the medium, and that’s how we must work. There’s a lot of research work to do in every case, but supernatural tends to hide from the common eye on a basic level so… Checking on the most obscure corners is only natural.”

As they slowed down, Yuki felt like they were near the place that held the mystery, but not because of Morishima’s words: her body was starting to react. “You’re right. The tips of my fingers are already tingling...”

“That’s because she isn’t interested in hiding. Right now, we are the only ones who can see through the veil.” They reached the gorilla dome. Various groups were separated in different areas, prepared with resistant crystal walls to let the audience enjoy their behavior safely. Amongst them, one cell stood out. A single gorilla sat near a rock wall at the deepest limit of the cell. He looked seemingly angry rather than shy. But what they were looking at was only a half truth. “Well, to be honest, I can barely see anything nowadays. My vision’s gotten tired as I’ve grown older, but I can still feel a weak sign over my skin.”

“Don’t worry, grandpa. I have got your back.” Yuki said proudly, winning a chuckle from the old man.

“There’s some rumors circulating about that big boy.” Tokio started talking on a lower, more serious note. “He’s been seemingly depressed and angry for a couple of weeks, poorly eating and acting aggressive towards everyone. Despite being an alpha, they needed to take him out of his group. Some people say he even attacked and seriously injured a couple of keepers while they were trying to approach him...”

While the old man was talking, Yuki’s eyes started to lightly shine in a different way. It felt like getting used to the dark under a cloaked night without moon and stars, slowly perceiving the shape of what lay ahead. An eerie, smokey white form started to unveil as many inconsistent swirls that looked like hand-drawn ink lines grouped to form something identifiable. It was another gorilla, nearly as big as the one who was in this plane, seemingly hugging his neck from behind. It sported a soulless, sad expression.

“His mate died suddenly… He’s longing for her. Probably, the zoo didn’t share the exact details of her death. A chronic illness? Maybe, but that’s not the focus.” Yuki said, frowning, completing what Morishima was exposing here. “She wasn’t prepared to go, and she’s stuck on her attachment to him. That sentiment is magnifying his own grief so he can’t think straight sometimes. He can’t step out of the past. And she’s… trapped in her own past, too.”

Although tamer in a way than what she experienced with the woman of the train station, this situation shared the same hook. The old man sighed, half-smiling while she made her own conclusions. “For most of our veiled partners, the past is everything. They’re stuck in it and it’s our duty, somehow, to help them in killing it. You can’t consider someone dead if they’re still stuck here, a realm that’s already a part of their past. They will keep feeling anxious and miserable if they don’t get out of that space. We, who have that particular blessing… can understand it.” He stopped for a moment, trying to veil a long sigh. “In fact, understanding it took a lot from me in the past. So you, girl…”

There was a subtle sadness through Tokio’s words, a sensibility that Yuki was starting to understand from him. Like a turtle, he sometimes felt like shielding behind a mental wall to not express that longing, but she could feel it now. He didn’t know exactly how to teach her on this, but at the same time, it was clearer that he wanted her to learn how to do it and act, so as not to go through what he experienced. As if she could become a better version of what he was once, holding onto the baton with a different perspective. She was learning how to confront the remnant past, from someone who probably killed it in a way a long time ago. 

“It’s already started. At this point, better to act than keep talking, right? I’ve got a grip on it.” Yuki cut off his words, to also do the same with his worries. It was reflecting on her face now. The need to hold on life and be proud of what she was, showing him that he could feel safe about her determination, awakened it again. She would slowly get used to waking them up whenever she needed to.

As the silver eyes shone like the pale full moon again, the eerie white form stopped hugging her lover and turned to face her with unnatural aggressiveness. Her form got bigger, unstable, like the rage that comes from not understanding one’s own grief.

No rock, crystal or person would keep Yuki safe now, but she wasn’t feeling fear. Only a fulfilling need to help that made her invincible.

“It’s ending now.” She said, as a sign for the old man to step back while the remnant soul approached them. “Might be shorter than you expected, I know.”

“No, no. Make it quick, kid.” He smiled fondly, unaware of the sentiment of pride he was, naturally, feeling for her. “I really need to vape now. Wanna keep enjoying such a nice Sunday.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is my piece for the Grasshopper Manufacture Zine Vol.2, whose funds are destined to the charity and which you can purchase digitally here: https://gumroad.com/ghmzine (also, it has a digital album made by some awesome musics that you should totally check! https://ghmzine.bandcamp.com/releases )
> 
> This zine is a big-hearted project filled with so many passionate works made by lots and lots of talented people. If you're a Grasshopper fan, you shouldn't let it pass! I feel honored to be a part of this project, and as I've participated in the first volume too, I planned the piece to be as some sort of spiritual sequel to that work. Tokio is my favorite GHM character and I wrote about him that time, so now I wanted to write about the torch passing with Yuki (who's a wonderful character and I hope she gets her own game someday...). Yuki and Tokio have a lot of potential for mentor-student bonding scenes, and just wanted to put a little insight on that through a little "everyday" ghosthunting story.
> 
> Hope you enjoy the read!


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